Learnings from Church Planting in a Pandemic

I’m currently a witness to two things happening simultaneously:

The development of a baby boy (our fourth) on the one hand, and the development of a baby church on the other. (2020 has been a crazy year so I guess it only makes sense for these two births and subsequent development to happen in the same year.)

And while the runway of the church plant is still ongoing, a friend encouraged me to document my thoughts. So in this post and the one following, I want to share a few lessons I’ve gleaned from the last 6 months of church planting. I will share five lessons in this post and another five in Part 2. 

Disclaimer: There are multiple ways to plant a church. The church planting model I am experiencing comes with its own unique challenges and advantages. The following lessons may not be applicable to another pastor who is planting through a different model in a different context. I share these learnings out of my own context, therefore with humility. 

Learning 1: The Leaders Have to Go First

“Are my leaders seriously committed to this?” This is a question people rightfully ask themselves in the beginning of the church planting stage. And the longer the questions linger, the bigger the roadblock will be for the people themselves to commit. Therefore, belief in the commitment of the leaders has to be established early on.

This makes sense. People want to know their leaders have bought into the very vision they’re casting. They don’t want to go “all in” on something the leaders haven’t yet. No one wants to give his or her time, energy, and emotional weight to that which doesn’t truly matter to the leaders.

This is one of the reasons why our family moved to the location of our church plant. It was about communicating commitment through action. It was about making the first move so that others could be invited in with integrity.

Learning 2: It’s Not Really About a Sunday Service

One would think church planting necessitates the curation of a really great Sunday service experience so that people will want to come back and invite their friends. It’s partially true, but I believe there is more than meets the eye.

One of the essential roles of the church planter is to be the lead story teller who regularly tells the story of what God has done, could do, and is doing now in the church in a way that inspires and invites. Rhythmic and focused vision casting is just as critical, if not more so, than merely putting on a “quality service.”

Besides, a Sunday experience can be found anywhere. But a compelling vision can be found wanting. Church planters identify God-generated momentum and steward it by cultivating culture through vision casting, celebration, and invitation.

Learning 3: The Venue Matters (But You Can Get By In the Short Run)

Of course the venue matters. There are personal, practical, and missiological factors for finding a good venue. What church planter wouldn’t want to meet at a nice hotel, movie theater, or a school that has great visibility and creates a “wow” factor?

But the same time, I think it’s entirely possible to get by for a season without the ideal venue. This past Sunday, our community held service in an alleyway with a couple of tents. Is this our ideal venue? No, but it works in the current moment.

A part of me even wonders if there is a benefit to not having the nicest venue as it attracts the right profile: those who are not high maintenance, are present for deeper reasons, ready to roll up their sleeves - in other words, the exact kinds of people needed for a church plant. 

Learning 4: Don’t Underestimate the Power of Team Chemistry

While I am a big believer of competency being second only to character, I’ve seen the power of team chemistry during these last months. By chemistry, I’m not talking about just theological or philosophical alignment, I’m talking about trust and how that glues a team for action. 

Trust makes all the difference in the early church planting stages. Trust generates honest communication, which will create clarity, which will result in speed. And in the early church planting stages, the right pace can sustain or ruin momentum. 

While, I feel lucky to work in chemistry with competent leaders, if you asked me to choose between a team of high competency with decent chemistry as opposed to a team of high chemistry and decent competency? I would go with the latter to plant a church.

Learning 5: Development Is Non-Negotiable 

I recently heard Ed Stetzer give a fascinating church planting data-point where he compared the church plant results of pastors who had a four-year seminary degree plus three days of church planting boot camp as opposed to those who only had the degree but no bootcamp. According to the research, the prior fared much better as church planters. In other words, the three extra days of bootcamp was the difference!

While I’m not sure if that’s cause or correlation, I don’t need data to prove that development is a must. I’ve been immensely helped in receiving weekly training with various pastors who help coach, guide, and walk alongside me. I can’t imagine church planting without their knowledge and accountability. 

This experience has showed me how many pastors plant churches and run ministries in isolation. I have been guilty of this. Books are helpful, but books can be an excuse to not interact with those who have hands on experience. 

Conclusion

I would be doing injustice to the ministry of church planting without mentioning the miracle of it all.

Like the miracle of a newborn baby, the birth of a new church is also supernatural. The leaders can do everything right from a tactical standpoint, but are ultimately dependent on the mysterious work of the Spirit.

I’m grateful for these learnings, but the biggest learning will always be the same: Jesus and Jesus alone builds his church.